Stephen G. Post

As part of a large scientific survey if 1,200 men and women across the United States Matthew T. Lee, Margaret M. Poloma, Stephen G. Post describe their conclusions in The Heart of Religion, Spiritual Empowerment, Benevolence, and the Experience of God's Love. Superficially an average American may chase his dream, career and money, but underneath millions are searching meaning in life in a religion. While the researches would like to compare results from Christianity with Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, the statistics only had relevance now on Christians.
Though some distinguish between religion and a relation with God, the survey didn't show a significant difference. So, both terms seem to mean still the same. And the awareness of God's love and prayer as a way of interaction with Him is very important.
Next step is to see whether religion matter as to benevolence, spiritual and physical healing and empowerment to speak in tongues, experience miracles, and care about the poor, social injustice, etc. Added to the survey, the authors interviewed 120 Christian men and women who are engaged in benevolent service, ministries and churches. Their stories not only show a living faith, but also cultural lenses to religion and spiritual experiences. Denominations like Pentecostals, Mormons, Presybyterians influence the way we raise our children and are more or less focused on internal (church) matters or the world around us
Mixing statistics with personal stories has its pros, like offering more than just tables and figures, and cons as well, like telling parts of each personal story over and over again. The book would have even more value when a comparison was made with other religions or other Christians outside the US.… (más)

Godly Love is an odd little book. Presented in a gift format, this 146-page title is printed on small pages with lots of white space and is small enough to fit in most purses and roomy pockets. However it’s not the size that classifies this book as odd, that only accounts for the “little” aspect of the description.

Though Post draws upon the scripture reference of Isaiah 35:1 for its’ title and speaks of the agape love of the Christian tradition, he often leaves God out in the cold in his work on Godly love. Godly Love starts with promise sharing pages filled with reflection on the nature of Godly love and examples of this love in action by those who serve Christ and others in love. These pages of reflections are interspersed with quotations from notable Christians such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln along with quotations from scripture.

Not far into the book though I began to encounter quotations from other thinkers including Buddha (who did not believe in any personal God), Muslim scholars and New Age philosophers subscribing to the notion of ‘cosmic consciousness’. Clearly Post is operating under a different understanding of the Christian tradition than I am.

These ecumenical tendencies began to infiltrate the text as well. Phrases such as “Oneness with the Universe”, “Ultimate Truth” and “Supreme Good” began to be used interchangeably with the name of God. Post also began to speak of the essential goodness of human nature, the sacredness, goodness and Godly love that dwells within each of us if only we can call it out of ourselves.

The Bible informs us that not only have we all sinned and come short of the glory of God, but that every thought of our minds and hearts is wicked without God’s revitalizing work in the heart. Since these tenets are vital to traditional Christian beliefs it became clear that Post was not basing his work firmly upon scripture, but resorted to drawing from pluralistic conjecture and his own thoughts.

A scant amount of research soon revealed that the Templeton Foundation – parent organization to Godly Love’s publishing house, Templeton Foundation Press – funds religio-scientific research proposals from those practicing Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Other East Asian Religions. Knowing that it is less surprising to find strongly pluralistic beliefs in a title professing to draw it’s insights from the Christian tradition.

Those who accept the words of the Bible as literal truth will recognize that this position is far from biblical. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” KJV, John 14:6

Due to these concerns Godly Love is perhaps better suited to a readership of Gnostics, Anthroposophists, Theosophists and New Age believers who are not antagonistic to Christianity (A Course in Miracles, anyone?) The majority of Christians will likely find this title confusing and contradictory at best and entirely entirely incompatible at worst. Christians seeking a deeper understanding of agape love would be better served by a work illuminating the love present in Jesus’ death on the cross.

Reviewed at http://quiverfullfamily.com… (más)

This book is essential reading for anyone working in the dementia care field. Post articulates a compelling challenge to what he calls our "hypercognitive culture" that tends to diminish if not entirely dismiss the moral standing of people who suffer profound cognitive challenges. Post finds grounds for embracing the continued personhood of people with dementia within the Judeo-Christian heritage , and from these he develops positions on the concrete moral conundrums of caregivers and social policy.… (más)